Common sense for an uncommon world.

Tag Archives: Internet

There’s a price to be paid for this wonderful instant-info world we live in. We literally have the world in the palm of our hands – a wealth of facts, opinion, and counter-opinion just a click away on smart phones, tablets, and laptops.

But that information isn’t free. It has cost us our ability to marvel, it’s robbed us of our sense of wonder, and it’s rendered us chronically dissatisfied. The days of wonder are long gone – and those looking for inspiration are doomed to never again find it. Continue reading →

In just a few short years, the Internet has become an integral part of our lives – so much so that some of us wouldn’t know what to do without it. But in taking for granted the value of the Internet, have we also taken for granted that the Internet is something that we all have the right to access?

That debate is occurring at this very moment on two fronts: in England where there’s a movement to implement measures that would allow the government to effectively block certain people’s access to social media (specifically suspected rioters) during an emergency; and in the United States, where the San Francisco transit authority shut down wireless networks to try to minimize potential violence following a fatal shooting by one of its officers. Continue reading →

What are you doing Monday night? Hopefully you’ll have already been to the polls to cast a well-informed vote. So perhaps you’d like to spend a few moments during the evening of May 2nd to check out how the election is progressing?

May I invite you to tune into London’s A-Channel. I’ve been invited by local writer and tech guru extraordinaire Carmi Levy to participate in an exciting venture in support of the local station’s coverage. Continue reading →

On-line public pressure may not only serve to pull the plug on a move to cap Internet usage in the Great White North; it may, in addition to serving as a cyber-feather in our collective caps for democracy, show how we can get people involved in the political process in the future.

Lazy, apathetic, disinterested voters have been both the bane and the boon of politicians for years – a bane to those interested in making change; a boon to those who are content with pushing their agendas through parliament before the masses catch on – but a recent kerfuffle in Canada has shown that there’s something that can be the great equalizer.

While the Internet has made it easier for people all around the world to share their thoughts with the world, it’s also proven the value of learning those basic journalistic that those of us who have written for traditional media learned long ago.

The latest example of the need for stricter attention to these journalistic ideals comes from, unfortunately, a so-called editor who combined a healthy disregard for copyright with an unhealthy level of hubris that has inflicted an immense amount of damage for her publication. Continue reading →

If the National Football League entry draft is a two-day information orgy, then the Canadian Football League’s version is more akin to a teenager’s first time in the back of a car – unmemorable and over before you know it. But, in both cases, it’s all about passion – a fact that the CFL’s brass and TV executives should take into strong consideration.

Sure, it’s not fair to compare leagues. It’s not even a matter of comparing apples and oranges. They’re both potatoes – just one league is known as small potatoes and another is the province of Prince Edward Island . Unfortunately, when you decide to run your draft in the same week as your south-of-the-border brethren, then you’re inviting those comparisons. And, in this case, the CFL gets mashed.

It’s too bad, really, because there are a significant number of people out there – at least those north of the 49 th – that consider the CFL game superior to that played in the United States . Sure, the quality and size of athletes may differ, but 12-man football, played on a wider field has more than its share of converts.

And ask CBC how much they love the Grey Cup! They’re consistently amongst the top-rated broadcasts on Canadian television. The interest, albeit intermittently, is there. So why does the league feel the need to scrimp when it comes to promoting its future.

NFL fans pore over Web page after Web page, searching out the most obscure facts about a player their team may pick in the seventh round. Major sports news outlets dedicate copious resources and staff to not just cover the event, but build it up into the orgiastic frenzy it becomes. Overhyped? Probably. But it’s an event that sells hope, promise, and potential for a brighter future for all of the league’s clubs.

The CFL’s draft? Well, fans will have to head to the Web to catch it, because there’s no TV. Not that there’s anything to see. While the NFL brings its decision-makers to a central location and ensures that most of the potential top prospects come along for the ride, CFL franchises participate in a conference call to select their future crop of Canadian stars.

Efficient? Yes. Compelling viewing? Only for those who like to watch paint dry.

There is interest in the CFL in this country. A former football wasteland like Montreal now is one of the league’s model franchises and the game is a hot ticket in a city that, arguably, has significantly more entertainment options at its disposal than any other Canadian metropolis. Toronto , under the amiable Pinball Clemons, has begun to make a comeback – no doubt buoyed by the club’s recent successes. And TSN’s Friday Night Football broadcasts are a staple of the network that offers a visual representation of the potential that exists league-wide.

So why not take a chance and highlight some of our young Canadian talent on a day where the future of the league is being decided? In the short-term, you may lose money – but this is an investment in the future of the league. The seeds of interest sewn today will grow into a passion for anyone who loves the game of football.

One of the problems is the CFL draft is about Canadians. These players form the backbone of the league, due to its import cap, but are often chosen from less-sexy positions like offensive and defensive line and linebackers. In large part, the marquee talent – especially quarterbacks and running backs – is culled from U.S.-bred players who weren’t able to crack an NFL franchise.

Yet, these very players who are being drafted are the same players that many future fans go to school with, or live in the same community as. There’s an innate interest for fans of a university’s football program or members of a community in watching one of their own succeed. And when that affinity is set up right from the outset, then a reason to watch the games themselves becomes vested in these people, who very quickly will become fans.

And there’s a chance to sell the storied history of our great game. Players play, but people sell, and getting to know the faces behind the mask and the innovators behind the game will enable people to grow more attached to the game.

We’re seeing what the seeds of interest have sewn in Quebec . Their minor league football program – in large part prompted and supported by interest in the Montreal Alouettes – is one of the finest in the country and has produced a university powerhouse in Laval . That same passion could be stoked across this great land of ours.

Expansion is a wonderful thought, and there are many reasons why there should be a team in Halifax , Quebec City, or even London or Kitchener . But the foundation for that future growth must be cemented in passion. If there’s a hunger throughout the country for the game, then delivering the product gets that much easier.

It’s all about stoking passion — so how about letting fans be voyeurs on the future?

Like this:

Dave, Dave, Dave. You broke two of the cardinal rules of the Information Age: Don’t do anything that you’re not willing to stand behind for years to come; and just because everyone CAN blog, doesn’t mean everyone SHOULD blog.

Too often people think that a strike of the delete key is enough to erase one’s activities from the electronic world. Some think that their thoughts and actions can simply get lost in the vastness of the Internet world — unfortunately, we’ve seen time and time again that nothing is every truly gone.

Dave Burghardt, son of former Liberal MP Jack and a now-former campaign worker for Glen Pearson’s Liberal bid for the London North-Centre riding, is suffering the political fallout from blogging. And while he’s apologized for his self-professed indiscretions and ill-chosen words, the fact is that if he wasn’t going to stand behind what he wrote in the first place, he never should have committed his thoughts to ink – or cyber ink as the case may be.

Simply put, everyone and their mother can blog, but that doesn’t mean everyone should. Most people can write a sentence, but that doesn’t mean they’re qualified to write for a newspaper, does it? So why should the standard be any less on-line? There are a very few responsible bloggers who take their craft seriously. There are a number of quality reporters and opinion columnist who ascribe to the basic tenets of journalism. They provide fair and balanced reports, or informed commentary, based on facts. They avoid libelous situations and stand by their actions.

Then there are the stream-of-conscious bloggers who feel their life story is fodder for the masses. For these people, their self-inflated view that their life is of interest to all generally runs out of gas. These blogs get abandoned once the novelty – or notoriety – wears off.

But these are innocent, mindless blogs. Fluff, as you would have it. Unfortunately, there is a segment of our society who believes in the anonymity of the Internet. They believe that their effects posting – either behind their own name, or through a pseudonym — only exists in Cyberspace and can’t be traced back to their every day lives. But, as Burghardt has discovered, these things can come back to bite you – hard.

It’s a safe assumption to say that nothing is every permanently deleted on the Internet. I’m sure there are ways known to people who are smarter than I am, but for the most part it’s safe to say that anything that ventures into the World Wide Web can be retrieved for years to come. And that’s not a bad thing.

Bloggers need to treat their forum with the same respect that people who write for publications do. They need to understand that their text will have the same permanency that someone who is dealing in newsprint and ink has. In fact, in some cases, those who write on the Web have a longer reach and more permanence than those who write for local publications. While an article that exists only in print may be kept in an archive, only to be discovered when someone blows off the dust from the storage box, those pieces that appear on the Internet can be searched for by people all around the world, in real time, whenever they choose.

Articles can be copied and posted on others’ Web sites. They can be linked to or mirrored. They can be quoted, referenced, or acknowledged on literally thousands of other sites without the original author’s knowledge or permission.

So it’s clear that a simple delete of the files just won’t cut it.

Blogging is still in its infancy. And, in fact, many of those with an on-line presence who deal in the creation of opinions pieces avoid labelling themselves with the term Blogger due to its negative connotations. However, as this forum of expression continues to grow, so too will the understanding that one must stand behind each and every comment one makes.

On-line or in print, a responsible opinion writer will adhere to strict journalistic principles of truth and fact-checking. The writer should be aware of libel issues and avoid writing anything that could be considered to contravene the laws of this country. And that takes research, understanding, and knowledge. Most importantly, you have to realize that your commentary today can resonate for years to come. I am proud to say that I stand behind each and every piece I’ve written over the past decade – and I can do so in confidence because I’ve taken extreme care to write what I believe, based on facts, knowledge, and opinion.

One’s opinion may change over time – which is the natural effect of growing older. But if you’re going to venture into the world of on-line commentary, make sure that you understand its permanency. If you want to write hate literature, or any other sort of commentary that you feel may affect you negatively in the future, then be smart about it and use pencil and paper – or maybe even an Etch-a-Sketch. That way, when you erase it, it’s permanent.

If you choose to write things that you feel will cause you embarrassment in the future, resist the lure of positing on-line. After all, if you play with fire, you’re likely to get burned. Ask Dave Burghardt about that.